Just to point out, the actual name of the Incheon baseball stadium is: SK Happy Dream Park. Our experience was good but very real. Let's just say that the Jokbal campaign may have just taken off!
Many of you may have expected me to have written this blog about our opening day experience for Doosan v Hanhwa at Jamsil. Nothing to say. Relatively low key game in a stadium that we know well. Just know that ticket prices have increased about 20%, the Burger Kings are gone and so are most of the young, trendy, female fans. You will have also expected something about Daegu. We had planned to go to Samsung Lions Field for the opening KIA v Samsung series but the chance of rain was too high. So, in search of adventure, we decided to hit the Happy Dream Park.
I have been to the Happy Dream Park more than a few times. Pretty much every time as an away fan. I have always appreciated it's cleanliness, friendly staff, cheap beer, good views and its excellent food options. However, I have to say that overall the SK Wyverns are a team that I neither love nor hate. I am an SK Knights fan. I go quite regularly. But Wyverns are the team that I always forget about. Ask me to list the 10 Korean baseball teams and I'll easily roll off 9. The 10th will come but it will nearly always be SK. Ask any fans, "Which teams can make the post season?" and they will have a detailed discussion but SK will not really figure in it. Not because they aren't good enough, they are just always forgotten. Just to let you know, they have some of the best talent in the league.
So I'd like to take back my comments comparing SK to rice cakes or pajeon or Kloud beer or any other distinctly forgettable or mediocre thing. I'm now pretty sure that if I wasn't already an avowed KIA fan or if I hadn't already drunkenly promised kt cheerleader Kim Ju Il that I would be "a bit of a" Wizz fan on several occasions then I might be thinking about pledging loyalty to the Wyverns.
I have to say that the day was looking a bit negative to begin with. I arrived feeling like utter garbage following an opening night drinking binge at Jamsil. Then, we went to our seats, an old chap immediately rejected our Jokbal campaign by repeatedly shouting "No!" at us. Maybe he is auditioning to be an employee at the Dome??? This was followed by two "hooligans" (see previous blog) staring us down as they enjoyed their coffee and pastries. The two ladies then moved because they couldn't stand us. The feeling was mutual!
But then... things changed! A lot!
Almost everybody else in the stadium was a legend. I mean literally hundreds of people adored us. We were like celebrities! All the people in the seats around us, talked to us with respect and they all seemed to get what the campaign was about. Make Baseball Fun Again!
As you will see if you watch our JoKBOL show, people were lining up for photos, to shake hands and talk baseball. Men and women, boys and girls, young and old. The Wyverns fans were fully on board with the Jokbal guys! They even put our banners on their giant (and I don't use this lightly) screen, several times! Once, they zoomed in on our faces and asked a question. "Did you enjoy SK?" Yes we did!
For regular kbo fans, I have to tell you that the food options here have changed. Popeyes is gone, but newer, better, cheap options have arrived. So don't worry!
For newbies, you will love the Happy Dream Park. Besides what I have already mentioned, there is a fireworks display after each Saturday game and Pocha tents outside the stadium.
Pocha is a kind of eating and and heavy drinking done at night. Fans mingled at them and drank into the night. I even met my girlfriend at one! Most stadiums had Pocha tents or picnic areas but have 1 by 1 removed them, but SK has kept them. The Happy Dream Park is better for that! I will write about this in more detail in a few weeks.
SK also encourage their players to sign autographs and meet fans at the entrances!
To get there, try to avoid the subway and get a bus to Incheon Bus Terminal which is nearby. Just a tip.
On a side note, as I think about next week's blog, a couple of candidates for cheer song of the year were also found. I will also try to explain the green wig and it all relates to this chap on a hydraulic boat in the picture below.
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